Airplane carrier glider



A ril 30, 1946. D. s. FAHRNEY AIRPLANE CARRIER GLIDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13; 1942 April 36, 1945. D, s, FAHRNEY 2,399,217

AIRPLANE CARRIER GLIDER Filed March 13, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Delmar El- Fahr'ney 4 She ets-Sheet 4 April 30, 1946. in. s. FAHRNEY AIRPLANE CARRIER GLIDER Filed March 13, 1942 D Elmer- E. Fa'hr-na BY y 2m Patented Apr. 30, 1946 UNITED STATE s PATENTjOF-FICE AIRPLANE CARRIER GLIDER Delmer S. Fahrney, United States Navy Application March 13, 1942, Serial No. 434,514

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883,. as amended April 30, 1928;37'0 "0."G.757') 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in aircraft and, more particularly, to a glider aircraft carrier.

1 It, is an object of the invention to provide a glider adapted to carry one or more smaller aircraft, such as fighter airplanes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a glider having aircraft storage compartments.

A further object of the invention is to provide a glider, such as described, with means for transferring airplanes into and out of storage compartments.

A still further object is the. provision of a glider including wings having recesses adapted to receive smaller aircraft, such .as fighter-planes.

A still. further object of the present invention is the. provision of a glider having a. recess to receive a smaller airplane, the lower portion of the airplane forming acontinuous surface with the lower surface of the glider wing, insuring a smooth flow of air over the lower surface of the glider.

A still further object is to provide an improved glider boat.

Yet another object is the provision of a glider aircraft carrier-adapted to be towed by another airplane and including means for supporting one or more smaller aircraft, such as fighter ai-rplanes, in a manner whereby the propelling means of the smaller aircraft may serve, if desired, as main or supplementary propelling means for the aircraft carrier.

The invention also resides in the provision of an airplane carrier glider boat adapted to -be towed on water or in the air and constituting a portable base for the repair, supply and operation of smaller aircraft.

The invention also aims to provide an airplane carrier glider boat including wings having improved storage arrangements therein and equipped with floats retractable into the wings.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description, when -taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and in which drawings;

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred form of tailless aircraft carrier and showing, in broken lines, smaller airplanes carried thereby.

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of the tailless glider aircraft carrier resting on a body of water with its floats extended, and showing, in broken lines, smaller airplanes carried thereby.

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of the tailless glider in flight with its floats retracted, and showing the smaller airplanes suspended from the glider.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view substantially on the line 4, 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5. is a fragmentary bottom plan view of a portion of one wing of the glider and showing the recessed under surface of the glider wing.

Figure .6 is. atop plan view of a modified form of a glideraircraftcarrier providedwith a tail.

Figure 7 is a topplan view of a further modified form of glider aircraft carrier.

Figure '8 is a view in front elevation of glider aircraft carrier shown in Figure '1.

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 9, 9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a top plan view-of another modified form of my glider aircraft carrier and showing in broken lines a smaller airplanecarried there- Figure 11 is a front elevational view of the glider aircraft carrier illustrated-in Figure 10 and showing in broken lines, a smaller airplane carried thereby.

Figure 12 is a side elevatienal view of the glider aircraft carrier and showing in broken lines a smaller airplane carried thereinand-suspended. from the glider.

In the drawings, which show preferred and modified forms of the invention, similar reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views. The letters A and A generally designate preferred and modified forms of glider aircraft carriers for carrying smaller airplanes B, of the low-wing monoplane type, the

the

letter A" generally designating a further'modified form of glider aircraft carrier adapted to carry smaller" airplanes B" of the high-wing monoplane type. The letter A generally desighates a still further'modified form of glider'aircraft carrier adapted to carry a smaller airplane B! s The glider aircraft carriers A, A", A and A may of course be the landplane, seaplane or amphibian type. 'In the example shown ;for the purpose of illustration, in Figures 1-5, the carrier A comprises a, boat-shaped fuselage or 111111 l5 provided at its forward end with any, suitable type of releasable towcable l6; At its opposite ends, the hull l5 may be provided with turrets 11 for gunnery or observation purposes. Extending from the opposite sides of the hull 15 are wings l8 tapering in width and thickness from the hull toward their outer end portions l9. These wings 18 are supported by front and rear spars 20, 2| that project from the hull at widely spaced zones 22, 23 and converge at 24 within the tip ends of the wings. Extending between the front and rear spars 20, 2i adjacent the hull are storage compartments 25 adapted to receive airplanes B.

In the lower surface 26 of each wing I8 is formed an elongate opening 21, as shown inFi ures 4 and 5, communicating with the storage compartment 25 and of a size to receive the fuselage 28 of the airplane B. Formed in the lower tal control surfaces 32 when the fuselage 28 of.

the airplane is elevated into th storage compart ment through the opening 21.

Each storage compartment 25 is provided with airplane elevating and lowering means 35, such as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. Swingably supported at one end, as by a pivot 36, is a rigid ladder-shaped trapeze 31, terminating at'its free end in a triangular-shaped loop 38.. Each airplane B is provided with an upstandingfrarneSS' rigidly supporting, above the center 'of gravity of the airplane, a hook 40 provided with a forwardly declining shank 4| for guiding the hook-40 into the loop 38. Attached tothe loop end 38 of the trapeze is one end of a trapeze lifting and lowering cable 42 that is trained around 'pulleys43, 44 for connection to any suitable control mechanism, such as a winch (not shown) for paying out and reeling in the cable 42. Attached to the loop end 38 of the trapeze is one end of a trapeze steadying cable 45 that is trained around pulleys 46, 41 for connection to any suitable, control mechanism (not shown). The arrangement is such that by reeling in and paying out the cables 42, 45, the airplane B is swung on the arcuate path 48 between the elevated and lowered positicns shown byfulland broken lines in Figure 4. Any suitable closuremeans for the openin 21 may be provided. In the example shown, spaced tracks 50 are mounted at opposite sides ofthe opening for guiding flexible closure. panels 5|, 52 I between closed and open positions. When the airplane B has been launched and the trapeze elevated, these closure panels 5|, 52, when disposed in their closed positions, as illustrated in Figure 5, tend to insure a smooth flow of air over the lower surface 26 of the wing When the airplane Bhas been elevated to the position shown in full lin'es manure 4, the fuselage 28 will substantially seal the opening 21 except at the forward end of the opening in the vicinity of the propeller '53. By turning the propeller 53'to a horizontal position}the'closurepanel 5l'may be shifted so aslto close the forwardlend of the open;-

Extending between each compartment. 25" and the fuselage I5 is a passageway provided with an air-lock door 55 through which the aircraft carrier personnel mayenter or leave the' co'mpar't ment. This air-lock door 55 prevents the im-Jress of air intothe other interior spacesof the win throughthe compartment opening 21.

Thewings of the glider A are provided in their trailing marginal edges 56 with" ailerons 5! and at their tips with vertical control surfaces 58 and rudders 59. Also fitted inthe trailing marginal edges are flaps fiil that "are disposedinwardly of the ailerons. The leading edges SI of the wings extend outwardly and rearwardly from the hull fuselage I5, as shown.

The modified form of the glider A differs from the tailless gliderA in'that'its fuselage I5 is provided with conventional tail surfaces 62.

Referring now to Figures 7 to 9, it will be noted that the modified form of glider aircraft carrier A is provided with a hullor fuselage l5 similar a t s 3-. h s ider may be.

to that of the carrier A but that the Wings 18' 7 the Wings 18? are compartments 25 equipped with airplane elevating and lowering means of the generaYch'ar'acter shown and described in my copending U. S. patent application Serial No. 414,- 430, filed October 10, 1941. Installed in each compartment 25, as shown more particularly in Figure this a trapeze 31 such as previously described, cooperating with a hook 40 on the airfor elevating and lowering the wings 30f of the smaller aircraft B. In the example shown, the smaller aircraft B are of the highwingmonoplane type, and the lower surface of th glider 'wings are provided with recesses 29 for accommodating the monoplane wings 30 when the aircraft B is in its elevated position. Extending between each compartment 25 and the fuselage I 5' is a passageway provided with an air-lock door 55 that seals the wing against ingrass of air through thecompartment 25" when the smaller aircraft 3 is'in its lowered position. From an inspectionof Figure 9, it will be observed that the propelling means of the aircraft B is so positioned exteriorly of the aircraft carrier wing I8 that, if desired, the power of the smaller aircraft may be utilized to drive or assist in the driving of the aircraft carrier A". v 7

Referring now to Figures 10 to 12, it will be noted that the modified form of glider A is provided with a hull or fuselage I 5" that differs from the fuselages A, A and A, in that the fuselage A'", at the trailing edge 55" of the wing I8" is provided with a rearwardly facing step 63whereby the, tall 64 of the fuselage is of a uniform reduced height. From an inspection of Figure 10, it will be noted that the wings l8" comprise inner sections 65 of uniform width adjacent the fuselage and outer sections 66 tapering in width and thickness toward their-cuter end portions l9". The wings of the glider A are provided in: their trailing marginal edges 56." with ailerons 51". The tall 64 differs from thetail Blinthat a turret I15 is provided; in the end thereof. Within the fuselage l5" and the wings l8" of the glider are compartments 25" and 25" for housing thefuselage 6] and wings B8 of a smaller airplane Bff. When this smaller-airplane -B is carried by the glider, its tail portion 10 isdisposed rearwardly of prov ded w th a y suitable airplane elevating and lowering means 5g v V V V Various changes may be made in the forms of invention herein shown and described without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope ,ofthe following claim.- we 1 .Thein'vention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon orth'erefor. v i

What is claimed is: An airplanecarrier adapted to transport a low wing monoplane, comprising a towable glider including a hollow portion-having a lower surface provided withan opening of a size to receive the fuselage o'fsaid monoplane, pulleys and cables'in said opening, the said cables being trained around said pulleys, a ladder having a loop pi l mounted in said'opening, one end of said cables beingoconnected to one end of said ladder, said monoplane provided at its forward portion with a frame having a horizontal rod portion, said rod adapted. for engagement with the'loop in said ladder. V 1

. DELMER S. FAHRNEY. 

